It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday- insulated thermos cover... with a tail!

You know something like this has to have a story, right? Well, it does :). My brother in law likes go out on his front porch in the evening. Lately there's been a skunk hanging around the front of the house at night, so he's been worried about being sprayed while he's out there. My niece (his daughter), who is such a fun & funny person, couldn't resist pulling a prank on him with her boyfriend. They took a realistic stuffed animal skunk, attached fishing line to it, and strung it through a tree. When they moved it around, my b-i-l panicked and tried to get in the front door. They locked it. And video taped it. LOL!

Anyhoo, they had asked me a while back to make a cover for his thermos, since his coffee was going cold too quickly. Because of the handle and strap, I used a cardigan, so it could be buttoned around the handle.



I couldn't resist adding the tail ;).

It's Tutorial Tuesday! Make an insulated water bottle cozy!

Did you know that wool is naturally insulated & moisture wicking? That's what makes recycled wool an excellent choice for water bottle cozies! Your water will stay cold, but your hands will stay warm. The texture of the wool helps you keep a better grip on your water bottle, and the condensation will be wicked away, so you won't be left with a soggy cozy. We've been using recycled wool cozies on out steel water bottles for a long time now, and can't live without them! Ready for the super easy tutorial?

Take a felted (not too felted, so there is a bit of stretch left to it) wool sweater sleeve, and place it on your bottle, to determine how long you want it to be. Mark it, take it off the bottom, and cut straight across. Don't follow the pattern of the sweater when you cut (if you are using a patterned sweater), because the patterns can run at a slight angle. Then cut a circle that is the same circumference as the bottom of your cut sweater sleeve bottom.


Now turn your sleeve part inside out, and place the circle on the cut end, wrong side out.


Now sew the circle to the sleeve.


It should look something like this when you are done...


Now flip it right side out, and you are done!


Now we are ready for summer!

P.s. These are washable too! I've washed my son's cozies a dozen times. Just wash on cold, so they don't felt further. I just threw them in cold cycles in the washer, but if you want to be extra careful, just hand wash cold and lay flat to dry.

It's Sweater Monday!

Happy Memorial Day! Hopefully, you are all having a wonderful holiday weekend! Ready for some sweaters?

Let's start with a rainbow of lightly felted cashmere (gray, bright golden yellow [sold], purple [sold] cardigan, pink, coral, mint green cardigan, magenta, orange sherbet, red)...


a couple of patterned blends, a super soft black/white 55% merino/45% alpaca ($8), and a cute sheep scene (it repeats on the back as well) 85% wool/15% nylon...

(here's a close up of those cute sheep!)

some striped (big charcoal/maroon shetland, lightly felted green/blue 74% wool/21% nylon/5% spandex, big black/red/white 90% lambswool/10% nylon)...


a couple of embellished, a dark green/light green [sold], and a red cardigan...


some merino (navy blue [thicker than average merino], pinstriped black/gray, lightly felted greenish gray, navy/gray striped)...


and some wools (red shetland, buttery soft black cardigan, charcoal [looks & feels like merino], slate-ish blue, lightly felted Aran).


Happy Sweater Monday & Memorial Day! Please keep in mind that the post office is closed today, and that any sweaters ordered today won't be shipped out until tomorrow morning.

What is Sweater Monday? It is when I show the sweaters that are being added to my inventory. This is an opportunity for anyone to "call dibs" on sweaters they see here that they want to buy. This also saves me the time of listing them all individually in my shop, so it's a win-win. To "call dibs" or ask any questions, please email me (krisnstevep@netzero.com). Pricing for individual sweaters is generally as follows: wool & wool blend sweaters $6 each, cashmere $8 (patterned, striped, & big mens cashmere $10). All exceptions will be noted. You are welcome to combine orders from Sweater Monday sweaters with sweaters in my shop. Since I seem to get the same questions about Sweater Monday, I will be posting this paragraph on the bottom of each Sweater Monday post. To see previous Sweater Monday posts, please visit Sweaters of Yore.

and the winners of the boys clothes giveaway are....

orange monster patch jeans - Megan
owl patch jeans - Siana
monster patch jeans - Anna
sweater - Leslie

I will be contacting you all shortly!

Recycled wool boy's clothes giveaway!

Since I haven't been posting much, how about some giveaways! I feel a little weird about doing a giveaway with my son's outgrown clothes, but these are all one of a kind. The jeans especially were very popular on Pinterest!

The rules? Please post which item you want (in the comments section of this post). Don't forget to leave an email (so I can contact you, if you win). Blog/tweet/Facebook about this giveaway, and you can post again for each (total of 4 posts max per person)! I'm sorry, but this giveaway is limited to the US. This giveaway ends at midnight (central time) on Friday, May 25th. I will use random.org to determine the winners.

Ready for the choices?

1. A super cute recycled wool sweater made by Victoria Velting. It fits a 2t-3t.
(there is no spot on the bottom of this sweater... my camera lens has a scratch on it).


2. A merino wool baseball style shirt made by me. We used this as a night shirt. Wool is naturally fire retardant (without chemicals!), dust mite resistant, moisture wicking, and temperature regulating, so absolutely perfect for pjs! Approximate size is 4-5t. If you don't win, you can make your own from the tutorial here!
(there is no spot on the bottom of this shirt... my camera lens has a scratch on it).

3. 3 pairs of size 6 jeans (all slim fitting styles), patched by me.

- Gap jeans original fit, size 6, with handmade recycled wool orange monster patch, made by me.


- Faded black wash Gap jeans boot fit, size 6 slim, with handmade recycled wool monster patch, made by me. The other knee is threadbare, and will need a patch soon too. I accidentally washed these on warm, instead of cold, so it is slightly bunchy around the patch, but it didn't deter us from using them ;).


- Gap jeans original fit, size 6, with handmade recycled wool owl patch, made by me. The other knee is threadbare, and will need a patch soon too.


Good luck! :)

Free wool!

I am clearing out some space, and need to destash. I have the following free for the cost of shipping! :


Gone: Box of felted wool (and some cashmere) scraps (6 lbs, 12 oz.)...


some lightly felted to felted (except the scenery one) low wool content sweaters (5 lbs, 12 oz). For content, most are here. The black one on the far left is 60% alpaca/40% acrylic, and the navy with fair isle is felted, and most likely 100% wool, but is missing it's fiber tag.


Gone: and lastly, a box of felted seams (3lbs, 8oz)...


To calculate what shipping will be for them, just go to the post office price calculator, and plug in 60134 as the from zip, yours as the to zip, and the weights above, and it will give you the costs for shipping to you (hint: click on the "Priority options", as well as the "other options" tabs, to see the cheapest shipping options).

What should I do with these tea towels?

While garage saling this weekend, I found these fabulous vintage calendar tea towels, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968. Aren't they fabulous? Now, what do I do with them? I have the book Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Tea Towel on hold at the library (surprised they even had it!), but it hasn't come in yet, so I need ideas. I'd like to use the whole towels, if possible. What did people use tea towels for anyway? They don't seem absorbent or practical for anything, but I am sure they served a purpose.

I saw these ideas on Pinterest:


Super cute, but I have no stools to recover.

So cool, but I have no upholstery skills or patience to learn.

These little dresses are adorable, but I have no girls...

What would you make out of them?